Telephone-call-registering device.



V. THOMPSON.

TELEPHONE CALL REGISTERING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY16,1916.

Patented June 12, 1917.

VICTOR THOMPSON, OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

TELEPHONE-CALL-REGISTERING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1917.

Application filed May 16, 1916. Serial No. 97,808.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Vroron THOMPSON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone Call Registering Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in telephone call registering devices, and the object of my invention is to provide a simple device by means of which a subscriber may buy any number of flat rate calls and may use as many, or all, of the calls paid for, as desired, and which device is adapted not only to register and indicate, for the benefit of the subscriber, the number of calls used by him, but also to register for the benefit of the telephone company, the amounts paid by subscribers. The use of the device also positively insures that no calls can be obtained by a subscriber unless paid for in advance.

I attain this object by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device, one side of the casing being removed.

Fig. 2 is a front view, the front of the casing being removed.

Fig. 3 is a face view of the coin seat.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the coin seat of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 3.

Similar figures of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

The device illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is adapted for the sale of 25 calls, as will be more fully explained hereinafter and consists of a casing 1 divided into upper and lower compartments 2 and 3 respectively. Rotatably mounted in compartment 2 is a shaft 4 on which is mounted a wheel 5 provided on its outer periphery with teeth 6, there being fifty teeth of equal pitch spaced around the circumference of the wheel. Se cured to, or formed integrally with, the wheel 5 on one side is a disk 7, each half of the circumference of which is marked, as shown in Fig. 2, with the numerals 1 to 25 respectively, that is, the numbers run from sition directly below the coin chute 11, the

lower end of which chute is just clear of the mouth of each coin seat when it is in the upmost position, as shown in Fig. 1. The lower end of each coin seat is turned upwardly, as indicated, 12 in Fig. 4, so that a coin dropped thereinto may be retained until the seat is upended, as hereinafter described.

13 indicates a member secured to shaft 4 and provided on its periphery with a number of fingers 14, there being as many fingers as there are teeth 6 in the wheel 5, that is, fifty. These fingers are made of sufficient length to engage, when the shaft 4 is actuated, a coin resting in the uppermost coin seat, an opening 15 being provided in each coin seat for the fingers to pass through.

Secured to the shaft 4 is a ratchet wheel 16 having as many teeth as there are teeth in wheel 5 and of the same pitch, which wheel is actuated by means of the spring pressed pawl 17 pivotally mounted on a suitably fulcrumed depressible lever 18, and which lever is returned to its normal position by means of a spring 19.

20 and 20 indicate projections formed on the periphery of the disk 7 opposite the twenty-fifth and fiftieth tooth of Wheel 5 and adapted to trip the pivotally mounted lever 21, which lever carries a spring pressed pawl 22 normally engaging the ratchet teeth 23 secured to the side of the outermost roller of a rotatably mounted register 24, of any approved type. 25 indicates a spring for returning lever 21 to its normal position. A bell 26 is mounted in the compartment 2, and is struck by a suitably fulcrumed hammer 27 provided with an extension 28 adapted to be engaged and tripped by each tooth of wheel 5. 29 indicates a spring-pressed pawl normally engaging the teeth of wheel to prevent inadvertent movement of the wheel, a similar pawl 30 being provided to prevent backward movement of wheel 16.

31 indicates a curved plate disposed as shown in Fig. 1 so that it will be just clear of the coin seats as they are carried around by the wheel 5 and thus prevent the coin in the uppermost seat from dropping out until it arrives at its lowest point, that is, the position of coin seat 10 shown in Fig. 1, the length of the plate being such that its extremity will be clear of the upended coin seat so that the coin may drop out and fall into the lower compartment 3 through openin 32.

-Iaving thus indicated the principal parts of my invention 1 will now describe the manner in which it operates.

In use the device is placed in a convenient position adjacent the telephone receiver. Suppose the telephone company has fixed a fiat rate of one cent per call. A subscriber desiring to make a call takes the receiver off the hook and asks for the number in the usual way, whereupon the operator instructs the subscriber to place a 25 cent coin in the chute 11, that is, if there is no money in the device, and press the lever 18. The coin drops into coin seat 9 and is engaged by the finger 14L immediately behind it, since the depression of lever 18 carries wheel 16 around one tooth and thus the fingers 14 are advanced a distance equal to the pitch of the teeth on wheel 16. The advancement of the finger engaging the coin advances the coin and the coin seat 9 and therefore the wheel 5 and disk 7, the advancing tooth of wheel 5 tripping the hammer 27 to strike bell 26, on hearing which signal the operator completes the connection so that the suscriber may talk to the party called. It will now be seen that each depression of lever 18 advances wheel 16 one tooth at a' time and also the fingers 14, the coin and coin seat 9, wheel 5 and disk 7 a corresponding amount, so that successive depressions of lever 18 will effect a complete revolution of wheel 16, each depression representing a call obtained and paid for in the manner just described. Thus, the disk 7 being advanced, the numerals 1 and 25 will appear in succession through a suitable window (not shown) in the casing, so that the subscriber may see how many of the twenty-five calls, bought by the 25 cent coin, have been used by him, as it will be understood that if the numeral 10, for instance, appears through the window, then there are still 15 calls at the subscribers disposal before the 25 cents is used up.

The discharge of the coin from the coin seat 9 takes place at the termination of the 25th movement of wheel 16, that is, when the 25th call is made, as a half revolution will then have been effected, the coin seat then being upended so that the coin may drop out into the lower compartment 3, which forms a collection box for the coins. The coin seat 10 will then be uppermost and in position to receive another 25 cent coin, after which the operation described in the foregoing may be repeated. Thus it will be seen that one half of disk 7 is numbered to cooperate with the occupied coin seat 9, and the other half to cooperate with the occupied coin seat 10, and that when coin seat 9 is in the coinreceiving position coin seat 10 is in the discharging position, and vice versa.

Now, at the termination of each occupied movement of the coin seats the respective projections 20 and 20 trip the lever 21 to cause the register 24 to indicate such termination, that is to say, at the first 25th movement of the wheel 16 the lever 21 will be tripped to cause the register to indicate 1, at the next 25th movement of wheel 16 the register will indicate 2, and so on .these numerals indicatin for the companys benefit, the number of 20 cent coins paid. into the device and forming a check on the number of coins which should be collected out of compartment 3'at any time. A suitable window is provided through which the register 21 is always visible.

Although the device shown is adapted for the sale of 25 cents worth of calls it will be apparent that any number of such do vices may be grouped together in which coins of different denominations may be used. That is to say, three such devices may be grouped together in one machine, one for 25 cents, as shown, one for 10 cents, and one for 5 cents. The only difference in the devices would be that in the 10 cent one twenty fingers would be used instead of the fifty in the 25 cent device, and in the 5 cent one there would only be 10 fingers. The disks 7 would also be numbered correspondingly, the numerals in the 10 cent device reading from 1 to 10 andin the 5 cent one from 1 to 5, and the number and pitch of the teeth of wheels 5 and 16 in the respective devices would be the same as that of their respective fingers.

hat I claim as my invention is:

1. A telephone call registering device, comprising a serrated traveling disk, two diametrically located coin holding frames on said disk normally stationary when unoccupied, means for imparting *a step-by-step movement to the disk and means for indicating the successive movements of the said serrations.

2. A telephone call registering device, comprising a coin chute, a traveling disk,

two transverse coin holdingframes carried diametrically opposite on said disk and the mouths of which face outwardly, and eX- ternal manual means for imparting a stepby-step movement to said disk when one seat is occupied so as to carry the other seat into radial alinement with the mouth of said chute.

3. A telephone call registering device, comprising, a coin chute, a traveling disk having on one side diametrically opposed coin seats the mouths of which face outwardly and on its periphery diametrically opposed projections, means for imparting a step-by-step movement to said disk when one or other of the seats is occupied so as to carry them successively into radial alinement with the mouth of said chute, and registering means adapted to be operated by the respective projections coincidently with such alinement of the respective seats.

4. A telephone call registering device, comprising, a coin chute, a rotatably mounted shaft, a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, a pawl and lever for actuating said wheel, a disk rotatably mounted on said shaft having on one side diametrically opposed coin seats the mouths of which face outwardly, each said seat having an opening closed by the coin occupying the seat, and a plurality of radial fingers secured to said shaft, there being as many fingers as there are teeth in the ratchet wheel, any one of said fingers being adapted to engage the coin occupying the seat so as to move the seat and the disk when the ratchet Wheel is actuated.

5. A telephone call registering device, comprising, a coin chute, a rotatably mounted shaft, a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, a pawl and lever for actuating said wheel, a disk rotatably mounted on said shaft provided on its periphery with a plurality of teeth equal in number to the teeth in the ratchet wheel, a plurality of fingers secured to said shaft, there being as many fingers as there are teeth in the ratchet wheel, and operator signaling mechanism operable by any of the respective teeth of the said disk. I

6. A telephone call registering device, comprising, a coin chute, a rotatably mounted shaft, a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, a pawl and lever for actuating said wheel, a disk rotatably mounted on said shaft, said disk being provided with diametrically opposed radial projections and having on one side diametrically opposed coin seats the mouths of which face outwardly, each said seat having an opening adapted to be closed by a coin occupying the seat, a rotatably mounted register, an actuating lever therefor, said lever being adapted to cooperate with either of the said projections, and a plurality of fingers seing adapted to be closed by a coin occupying the holding frame, a plurality of rotatably mounted fingers arranged to pass step by step through said opening, and means for actuating said fingers.

8. A telephone call registering device, comprising a rotatably mounted coin-holding frame normally stationary and vertically disposed when unoccupied, said frame having a normally uncovered opening therethrough adapted to be closed by a coin occupying the frame and means for carrying said frame by a step-by-step movement when occupied laterally from the vertical to an upended position.

9. Atelephone call registering device, comprising a traveling disk, coin holding frames thereon normally stationary and vertically disposed when unoccupied, means for carrying said frames by a step-by-step movement when occupied from the vertical to an upended position, and means for preventing the release of the coin from the frames until the upended position is reached.

10. A telephone call registering device, comprising a traveling disk, transverse coin holding frames thereon normally stationary and vertically disposed when unoccupied, means for carrying said frames by a stepby-step movement when occupied from the vertical to an upended position, and a curved plate disposed adjacent the path of said frames, the extremity of said plate terminating adjacent and clear of the mouth of the upended frames.

11. A telephone call registering device, comprising a pair of rotatably mounted diametrically opposed coin holding frames each of which is provided with a normally uncovered opening and is' adapted to receive and hold a coin which covers the opening, said frames being arranged so that one is in the receiving position when the other is empty, and manually operated means adapted to engage a coin in the receiving frame and carry it step-by-step to an upended position.

12. A telephone call registering device, comprising a pair of rotatably mounted diametrically opposed coin seats one of which is arranged to be in the receiving position when the other is empty, means operable step-by-step for carrying the occupied seat to an upended position and the empty seat to the receiving position, and an index for occupied, and means adapted to cooperate with a coin occupying one of the said frames for imparting step-by-step movement to said i; disk.

Dated at Vancouver, B. Q, this 29th day of April 1916.

VICTOR THOMPSON.

each seat adapted to cooperate therewith and indicate the successive movements thereof.

18. A telephone call registering device,

5 comprising a serrated traveling disk, two

diametrically located coin holding frames on said disk normally stationary when un- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

